WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Dis`so*lu"tion
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE. dissolucioun dissoluteness, F. dissolution, fr. L. dissolutio, fr. dissolvere. See Dissolve.]
Definition : 1. The act of dissolving, sundering, or separating into component parts; separation. Dissolutions of ancient amities. Shak.

2. Change from a solid to a fluid state; solution by heat or moisture; liquefaction; melting.

3. Change of form by chemical agency; decomposition; resolution. The dissolution of the compound. South.

4. The dispersion of an assembly by terminating its sessions; the breaking up of a partnership. Dissolution is the civil death of Parliament. Blackstone.

5. The extinction of life in the human body; separation of the soul from the body; death. We expected Immediate dissolution. Milton.

6. The state of being dissolved, or of undergoing liquefaction. A man of continual dissolution and thaw. Shak.

7. The new product formed by dissolving a body; a solution. Bacon.

8. Destruction of anything by the separation of its parts; ruin. To make a present dissolution of the world. Hooker.

9. Corruption of morals; dissipation; dissoluteness. [Obs. or R.] Atterbury.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913